About Me

Wife to Greg, mom to 7, and grandma to 3! Welcome to a glimpse of our life. It is a place where chaos abounds, tears are shed regularly, laughter is inevitable, and family is EVERYTHING!!!! Everyday is about the choices we make. Let's choose today to be different. To live for him. To find joy in the little stuff. To worry less and to love more. To be who he created us to be. This blog is about my daily "choices" along the way. Won't you join me? It will be a wild ride. But, as I always tell my kids I once heard it said "there ain't no high like the most!”

Sunday, June 29, 2008

This is what the Lord says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because her children are no more. This is what the Lord says: “Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded,” declares the Lord. “They will return from the land of the enemy. So there is hope for your future,” declares the Lord. “Your children will return to their own land.”

Jeremiah 31:15-17

Okay today I am writing to all you parents of teenagers out there. To all of you who are doing some weeping and mourning. To all of you who are sure your kids have left the land and are with the enemy. I know this feeling. I know what is to weep for a child. This is the strongest emotion I have ever felt in my life. I know what is to be sick with worry and to cry some gut wrenching cries. When someone pointed out this scripture to me it was like the words just leapt off the page. I don’t know about you but I am looking for some hope for the future. I want to know this work will be rewarded and it wasn’t all for nothing. I want to know that they will return to their own land. Now I know what some of you are thinking. Does this really apply to me and my teens? I believe it is a prayer we can have for our teens. I believe they will return. Maybe not in our timing. We get so frustrated when things don’t happen as quickly as we would like. Going through the valley is where your faith will grow and will strengthen. I guarantee it. If we didn’t have a valley we wouldn’t know who God is and what He can do. So today let’s restrain our voices from weeping and our eyes from tears. Let’s claim the promise of the hope for the future. Know in the end that if we press on our work will be rewarded. There is hope. Our kids will return to their land. Thank you God! Let’s praise Him ahead of time for His promises. Commit today to pray this prayer below for our children every day.

Prayer:

Lord I ask that you will help me to refrain from mourning and tears. I know there is a hope for my future and my children’s future in you. I thank you for loving me and my children more than I can ever imagine. I pray for my children. I thank you ahead of time for when they will return from the land of the enemy. I praise you God for having all power over the enemy. Give me peace and rest today.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalm 16:11

I came across this verse today while doing my Bible study and I stayed there for a while. I really thought about these words of David. We all want to know the path of life and we all definitely want joy, but I think sometimes we want these things and try to figure them out for ourselves. Look at what it says. He makes known the path of life. I believe He will do this when we are sitting at His feet asking Him to make it known. If He is where we take refuge and if we ask He will reveal these things to us, but we need to choose to do this. And look at where joy will be found – In His presence. Not just anywhere, but in His presence. How do we get there? What are something’s that can hinder us? How can we be filled with eternal pleasures? By making Him our all. By laying down our idea of what our path should be and submitting to His will. We need to take time to be in His presence. Talk to Him. Ask Him questions and ask Him to reveal Himself to you. Being too busy often hinders us from knowing Him. Be still today even amidst chaos. In your spirit just be still and pray for Him to make know your path of life. Things would probably be a whole lot easier if we did this. I don’t mean that there would not be any problems. Oh no don’t misunderstand me. This life is full of troubles, but when we truly believe He is directing our path we know that there is never a battle we won’t win. I think we honestly don’t even have a clue what true joy is. We get so caught up in what we think would make us happy that we miss the boat. He wants to give us eternal pleasures, not just temporal. I don’t know about you but I could use some joy today. I would like to know “eternal pleasures”. Let’s all be like David today and find our rest, our peace, our direction, and our joy in the Lord!

Prayer:

Lord I thank you that you will make known my path of life. I come into your presence asking you to fill me with true joy. Help me to get rid of all the thoughts that are mine and to take on Your will for my life. I love you Lord. I want to know true joy and eternal pleasures that can only be found in Your presence.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James 1:2-4

Don’t you just love this verse? Who knew we would have so many opportunities to “consider it pure joy” this side of heaven. I mean really, I face trials upon trials, many of which I could never have even imagined. Teenagers alone provide ample opportunity daily for me to be “joyful”. But as usual what I love the most about God and His word is what it goes on to say. That in the end we will become mature and complete, not lacking anything. Wow! Isn’t that just amazing? He doesn’t just leave us hanging. He knows that if we persevere and just go with Him He will give us everything we need. We will someday be complete. I don’t know about you but so many days I am lacking so many things (sanity for starters) that this idea of completeness is simply amazing to me. Can you imagine being complete and not feeling like you got your skirt tucked in your panty hose? The fact that He wants us to be complete and lack nothing is a beautiful testimony to how much He loves us. So dear ones let’s just hang on. Let’s persevere and be strong in the Lord. Let’s develop a faith that when tested actually passes the test! Lately I feel like I have been barely passing by the skin of my teeth. I would like today to be different. Today I want to choose to face my trials with this completeness in mind. Holding it out in front of me like a rabbit chasing a carrot. Not giving up or giving in. Not settling. So often I let Satan get a foothold. I listen to his lies instead of reminding myself of the truth. We will face many trials this side of heaven, but this isn’t the end of the road. This is just a temporary pit stop. Yes it’s hard, but no it’s not where we will stay. Every day and every trial one step closer to our eternal home. Praise God! One way or another we are going to make it. We can either do it joyfully or like a size 10 woman wearing a pair of size 4 jeans. Just miserable. Either way we are going to get there. Today let’s choose joy. Let’s put on the pants that fit and laugh our heads off in the face of trials.

Prayer:

Lord I pray today that I will listen to your word and when I face a trial I will consider it pure joy. Thank you that you promise me someday I will be complete. Lord help me to develop perseverance and not to give up so easily. I can’t wait for the day that I lack nothing. Thank you for loving me so much that you want this for me.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

I lift up my eyes to the hills-where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 121:1-2

God has been so good to me this week. I started Bible study and He has so blessed me through it. I am realizing more and more that life is so much about perspective. You know the old glass empty/glass full thing. We can be overcome by situations in our life or we can choose to put on our God goggles and see things His way. Besides we are just passing through. That is what I am taking with me from Bible study this week. We are just passing through HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!! So what is your glass looking like today? You know I know that life is hard and I am not discounting that but we serve a God that is so good. We are loved by the King. Today instead of letting our circumstances get us down let’s wake up, look up to the heavens, soak up His love and ask Him to show us His glory and if He so chooses use us to reveal Himself to others. Now that would be some AWESOME living wouldn’t it be? That even though we are just passing through and even though things maybe hard that He can use us and that He loves us. That we can take to Him all our “woe to me” moments. That our help comes from Him and He is the maker of the heavens and the earth and still takes the time to watch over and protect each one of us. We really can’t ask for more can we now?

Prayer:

Thank you God for your goodness to us. You are so awesome and worthy of all our praise. Help us to keep things in perspective. Thank you that we are just passing through and what you have waiting for us is greater than anything we could ever imagine. We love you Lord.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

How do we achieve a spirit-filled life? I mean that is what we are all looking for isn’t it? To be filled by the spirit and rely on His power to direct our life. What does this look like? We all know someone who just oozes spirit-filled living and we all dream of a life that looks like that. We try and try and try as we might we always end up back at the same place asking ourselves why we can’t have what that other person has. I have a dear friend Sharon who has taught me a lot about this and how to achieve it. I didn’t get permission but I’m sure she won’t care if I share You see spirit-filled living and self-discipline go hand in hand. We need to be filling ourselves up with the word of God EVERY DAY! If we don’t we will empty out. Once we are empty all we are left with is fleshly living and that my friends is not a good place to be. That is when we feel anxious and depressed. We feel tired and have a short temper. There is no joy, no peace anywhere to be found, and life seems overwhelming. We need to have it poured in, in order to have it to pour out. Life is hard. We need to be able to pour it out each day. We constantly face situation that require us to be doing some spirit-filled living. We need to have the self-discipline to be in God’s word and then we will be able to draw on that in tough times. So let’s get to it. Open your Bible. Listen to your Bible (www.faithcomesbyhearing.com). Sleep with it under your pillow if you have to, but this is way too important to miss. You miss this and you risk missing your entire purpose not to mention the inner turmoil you will face. Let’s do some spirit-filled living today. If you are in Bible study with me, let’s do our homework. No Excuses! If you’re not you still have no excuses. Just open the Book. Pray for wisdom and understanding. Pray that your heart be teachable. Thank Him that you can freely be in His Word today.

Prayer:Lord, Thank you so much for your Word. Open our hearts and show us want You want to teach us. We are listening Lord. Give us wisdom and understanding that can only come from You. Help us to be people of self-discipline and thank you ahead of time for the harvest we will reap if we obey you and immerse ourselves in your word.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

I talk a lot about making choices and how life is made up of all the choices we make whether they are little choices or big choices they determine what are life will be like tomorrow, in ten years, and even for eternity. I am trying to make some choices and could use a little help. Thought maybe if I wrote them down maybe I would be more likely to stick to it. Anyway this is the start of my “choices list”. Here goes:

Today I will choose:• joy over discontentment• joy over grumpiness• joy over disappointment• joy!!!!!!!!!!!!• power, love, and self-discipline over fear• to move more and eat less and to accept my thighs if this plan doesn’t pan out• to live life like I might not have tomorrow• to parent intentionally and with all I got left in me• to listen more and talk A LOT less• to be in God’s word like a wild woman on a mission(like getting the last pair of designer shoes on the 75% off rack or the last pint of Ben Jerry’s at the grocery store)• to sing out loud about God’s great love• to share with my kids each day what God is doing in my life• to err on the side of grace and pray like crazy

This is just the start of my “choices list”. Won’t you join me in this? Let’s make a list, find someone to hold us accountable and pray we achieve at least a few things on our list before Alzheimer’s sets in or our teenagers send us plummeting to an early death.

Prayer:

Thank you Lord that we have the ability to make choices. Be with us today as we make our choices. Guide us. Help us to choose to live for you. Direct our paths. We love you Lord and want to honor you in every choice we make.